for gadhafi, to get him into exile. well get into that with the u.s. bourd to the united nations, susan rice. >>> first, we go to jake tapper at the white house. >> reporter: good morning, george. the president said a confluence of events compelled the u.s. to act to stop a massacre. a moral and a strategic case to act. and broad support for reaction throughout the world. but, george, that did not stop the president's critics. the president said they were a special set of circumstances. >> the united states has worked with our international partners to mobilize a broad coalition, secure an international mandate to protect civilians, stop an advancing army, prevent a massacre and establish a no-fly zone. >> reporter: also clearly informing his decision were lessons from two previous presidents. why would the u.s. not militarily seek regime change in libya? >> to be blunt, we went down that road in iraq. >> reporter: but also the responsibility to prevent a massacre, as did not happen in the former yugoslavia during bill clinton's tenure in 1995. >> as president, i refuse to wait for images of
